NEW YORK - J.P. Morgan’s Treasury Services business, a full-service provider of cash management, trade finance and treasury solutions, today announced it has been ranked by NACHA - The Electronic Payments Association as the top financial institution in total automated clearing house (ACH) network transactions originated for 2008. The bank has led the industry in ACH originations for a record 34 years in a row, since the inception of the network. J.P. Morgan originated more than 3.5 billion ACH transactions last year.

Electronic payments continue to be adopted by business and consumer users alike. J.P. Morgan’s ACH-based payment tools enable clients to securely take advantage of the simplicity and efficiencies made possible by electronic payments.

“J.P. Morgan is proud of the leadership role we hold in the payment industry and appreciate the confidence our clients place in us to execute their payment transactions,” said Pat Thelen, executive director, ACH and Global Check Deposit product executive, J.P. Morgan Treasury Services. “As a leader in the ACH industry, we look forward to driving new products and services arising from the ongoing convergence and consolidation of check and ACH transactions while sustaining the integrity of the network.”

J.P. Morgan’s fully scalable platform, advanced electronic systems and proprietary software set the industry standard for quality and fraud protection in ACH products and services. J.P. Morgan takes fraud prevention seriously and is constantly working to enhance safeguards built into payment products while supporting the industry’s efforts to maintain network fraud protections. The company has introduced a number of new services to help reduce the risk of fraud including:

* ACH Transaction Review - Available through J.P. Morgan’s Payables Web ServicesSM, this fraud mitigation tool enables clients to review and confirm ACH debit and credit transactions online and return unauthorized transactions on a case-by-case basis.
* ACH Debit Blocking - When an originating company attempts to post ACH debits to a client’s account(s), the system immediately compares the incoming company identification (ID) number with a list of authorized company ID numbers. This tool enables clients to block unauthorized ACH debits automatically from posting to their accounts.

Additionally, J.P. Morgan clients can subscribe to ACH Preemptive Processing Intelligence (PPI), the firm’s proprietary PPI database that monitors items for ACH eligibility, as well as notice-of-change information in order to identify and correct transactions prior to being submitted to the network. Potential exceptions are identified earlier, which increases the speed of payment collection, improves cash management and lowers costs.

The Dynamic Future of Payments
The payment industry continues to be one of the most dynamic in the financial services business.

“We believe the future of the ACH industry holds tremendous opportunity as electronification drives the development of products and services that enable our clients to manage their payment transactions more efficiently and effectively,” explained Sue Webb, executive vice president for J.P. Morgan Treasury Services. “We’ve proven our leadership in the past, having championed new products and services to the industry such as ARC, and expect to be a key player in introducing the next generation of offerings.”

J.P. Morgan continues to expand its ACH business, both in the U.S. and globally. J.P. Morgan’s recently launched Global ACH provides a single gateway for high volume multicurrency payments and collection services across multiple regions. Clients now have access to full SEPA credit and debit services from J.P. Morgan accounts domiciled in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

Indicative of J.P. Morgan’s commitment to quality, the bank has achieved and maintained ISO certification for all domestic and international ACH transactions processed through its state-of-the-art facility. The bank has a straight-through processing rate of 99 percent and maintains dual processing capabilities. Additionally, J.P. Morgan monitors the quality of transactions and customer satisfaction as a regular pattern of doing business. The firm also maintains dedicated remote contingency sites, which supports operations and business continuity in the event of an emergency or disaster.

About J.P. Morgan Treasury Services
The Treasury Services business of J.P. Morgan is a top-ranked, full-service provider of innovative payment, collection, liquidity and investment management, trade finance, commercial card and information solutions to corporations, financial services institutions, middle market companies, small businesses, governments and municipalities worldwide. With more than 50,000 clients and a presence in 39 countries, J.P. Morgan Treasury Services is one of the world’s largest providers of treasury management services and a division of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., member FDIC. More information can be found at www.jpmorgan.com/ts

About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.2 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. The firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management, and private equity. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about the firm is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.